{"id":300277,"date":"2026-05-19T21:15:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T21:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/300277\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T21:15:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T21:15:38","slug":"trumps-endorsement-of-texas-paxton-delights-democrats-frustrates-republicans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/300277\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s endorsement of Texas\u2019 Paxton delights Democrats, frustrates Republicans"},"content":{"rendered":"

In early March, Donald Trump<\/a> said he would \u201csoon\u201d issue an endorsement in the Republican Senate primary in Texas, adding that he expected the other candidate to drop out of the race after failing to receive his support. Two days later, The Washington Post reported<\/a> the president had made up his mind: He would endorse Sen. John Cornyn over his intraparty rival, state Attorney General Ken Paxton<\/a>, ahead of their May 26 runoff election.<\/p>\n

The ostensible decision made sense, since GOP officials were in broad agreement that Cornyn was a safer bet in the general election. For a president terrified of accountability, it wasn\u2019t too surprising that he was prepared to back the incumbent, if for no other reason than to improve the party\u2019s odds of keeping the seat and preventing a Democratic-led Senate.<\/p>\n

And then, nothing happened. The political world kept waiting for an endorsement that Trump suggested was imminent, only to learn that he wasn\u2019t ready to make an announcement.<\/p>\n

As this week got underway \u2014 and with time running out in the primary race \u2014 Cornyn said he expected the president to remain neutral. \u201cI think that ship has finally sailed,\u201d the senator said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One day later, the president proved him wrong. MS NOW reported<\/a>:<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump endorsed Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas Republican Senate primary runoff on Tuesday, ending months of public neutrality in a race that could help determine the balance of power in Congress.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Ken well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a WINNER!\u201d Trump said in a post on Truth Social, touting Paxton\u2019s support for ending the filibuster and passing the SAVE America Act. \u201cKen is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 657 words, the president\u2019s online statement<\/a> was unusually long and focused largely on conspiratorial grievances.<\/p>\n

As for Trump\u2019s earlier demand that the candidate who failed to secure his endorsement immediately drop out, Cornyn made clear in an online statement<\/a> of his own that he plans to stick around for the final week of the race. (He didn\u2019t mention his recent legislative effort to rename a highway after Trump<\/a>, as part of a clumsy bid to impress the president.)<\/p>\n

With polls showing a competitive primary contest, the new developments are likely to give Paxton at least some additional momentum. As far as Democrats are concerned, that\u2019s great news.<\/p>\n

Indeed, Trump didn\u2019t just deliver the news the state attorney general hoped to hear, he also stuck to the script that Democrats have been daydreaming about for months.<\/p>\n

In a written statement issued after the president\u2019s announcement, a spokesperson for the Senate Majority PAC, the main super PAC aligned with the Senate Democratic leadership, said, \u201cDonald Trump just endorsed a man who was impeached by his own party, indicted for felony fraud, reported to the FBI by his own staff, ordered to pay $6.6 million to the whistleblowers he tried to destroy, and whose wife is divorcing him on biblical grounds. And Trump did so despite the entire Republican political operation spending more than $100 million for the other guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tRecommended<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSteve Benen<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSteve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of\u00a0MaddowBlog\u00a0and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tLatest Post\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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